


Cold

by BraveheartZX



Category: One Piece
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-11
Updated: 2020-12-11
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:27:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28013934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BraveheartZX/pseuds/BraveheartZX
Summary: Vivi reacts to Portgas D. Ace's death after the events of Marineford.
Relationships: Nefertari Vivi/Portgas D. Ace
Comments: 3
Kudos: 8





	Cold

Princess Nefertari ran to her bedchambers as fast as she could, her chocolatey eyes swelling with tears. 

Portgas D. Ace… was killed. 

Barging into her own room and slamming the door behind her, she allowed herself to sink down against the door and bury her face in her hands. Her companion, Karoo, the super spot billed duck, came running to her side and sat down next to her. He nudged his bill against her shoulder and she lifted up the newspaper. Ace's lifeless body on the front page was enough for him to understand what was going through Vivi's mind. She couldn't help but look back on the times they were able to spend together, even if they were short-lived.

_ "Never imagined my search would bring me back here, princess."  _

_ Vivi jumped and looked to her window, seeing the captain of the infamous Spade Pirates and brother of Luffy, Fire Fist Ace. _

_ "Oh! Ace, welcome! How can I help?" She smiled brightly, which got a slight chuckle from the pirate. _

_ "It's fine. Just thought I'd drop since I was in the area, you know?" Ace tipped his hat and smiled back.  _

_ "Oh, then… What are you searching for?" Her head tilted. _

_ "Some leads say someone I'm looking for was seen here a little while ago."  _

_ If he was good at anything aside from destroying fleets and levelling towns, hiding all of his emotions wasn't one of those things. His demeanor changed slightly, to a more serious tone and standing up more straight. She must have looked concerned, because he tried to reassure her. _

_ "Ah- Don't worry. Said too much I guess. I'll be seeing you, princess!"  _

_ He jumped from the window and boosted himself away with a burst of his flames. The embers from his fire looked like little stars among the fallen sun's sky.  _

_ Who had he been searching for? _

_ Why did he seem almost… unsure? _

The pantagruelian amounts of grief she felt just from thinking about him hurt so much. She couldn't imagine how much pain Luffy was in… 

_ A day or so later, Ace found himself back at her window. It was pretty late, and she had just gotten into bed. Ace was never one to barge in on someone, so he knocked at the window, prompting Karoo to panic and Vivi to look over. Seeing Ace relieved her after a rather stressful day. She walked over and opened the window, letting the frigid desert air encapsulate her room.  _

_ "This a bad time?"  _

_ "N-No, not at all." She rubbed her arms. "What do you need?" _

_ "Oh. The cold. Sorry." He ignited his arm and held it horizontally in front of Vivi, close enough to keep her warm. "I can't find this guy. I didn't want to ask you any favors, but if you hear anything about Blackbeard, could you let me know?" _

_ "Blackbeard? Yeah, I can, but-"  _

_ "Thanks princess." Ace tried to burst off again, but Vivi grabbed his arm that wasn't on fire before he could. "Eh?" _

_ "You have to explain what's going on, Ace."  _

_ "...That's going to take a while. Long story. Looong uninteresting story." _

_ "I have time." _

_ "Princess, I shouldn't be here-" _

_ "Come, sit down." Vivi practically pulled Ace inside, pointing to a chair. "...And keep your arm lit, please." _

That night, she somehow managed to get more than what he was doing from him, but a lot of details about his life. It changed her perspective on him. He wasn't just a happy go lucky guy like Luffy was, and definitely wasn't anywhere near as serious as Zoro was, but rather… somewhere in between the two. She found out he never had a  _ real _ family. His mother died after she had him. Ace only said his father was… not a well-liked man who died before he was born. When he told her that, his eyes drooped to the ground and he got quiet. 

_ "Are you okay, Ace?" _

_ "Yeah. Don't worry about me." He turned his head to look out of the window. _

_ Feeling the need to change the subject, Vivi's eyes wandered to the tattoo on his arm. "Hm? Ace?" _

_ He turned to look at her, tilting his head. _

_ "Did someone misspell your name? Ace doesn't have an 'S' in it." _

_ "Ah… Nah." The longer than usual pause made Vivi nervous. Did she step on another touchy subject? "The 'A' stands for, well, Ace. The 'S' that's crossed out stands for… Luffy and I's other brother. Sabo." _

_ "You have another brother?"  _

_ "Not by blood of course. But we all shared sake and became brothers for life." _

_ "Then…?" _

_ Ace got quiet for another moment. It made her heart drop. "You don't have to tell me, it's okay. I shouldn't be so nosy."  _

_ "It's alright. Sabo got his own ship together, and we watched him sail off." Ace's eyes dropped to the ground again. "But those damn Celestial Dragons shot him down. The entire boat was destroyed. No one could find a body." _

_ Vivi didn't know what to say or do. Ace's life was filled with so much tragedy and loss… How did he appear so carefree before? _

_ "...The 'C' stands for 'Crybaby'. Luffy used to cry and whine a lot." He let out a small chuckle. "And the 'E' stands for Edward Newgate. Whitebeard. I consider him my real father."  _

_ "Ace…" Vivi was still hung up on everything else.  _

_ Ace turned to her, seeing her saddened, worried expression and panicked. "Hey! It's okay. It's in the past now." He almost reached out and put a hand on her shoulder, but he stopped himself. _

_ Vivi hugged him without warning or hesitation. Ace stood there, not knowing what to do. It felt wrong to even think of hugging her back. It's dangerous enough for him to be talking to her, but he was certain if  _ **_anyone_ ** _ saw this, he'd be killed on sight. And then Vivi would also have a huge target on her back too.  _

Ace felt so warm. Maybe it was because she was cold, but… she never wanted to let go of him. 

And now she regretted letting go.

She should have held him with no intent of  **ever** letting him go.

But now, she would never feel that warmth again. He was gone and he took that warmth with him. She loved her kingdom, her people, her friends and family more than anything. But she also couldn't deny that having Ace around just… felt right. Vivi felt alone. She knew she wasn't, she had everyone here with her. This feeling made her so cold. Vivi began to shake as she thought about her last meeting with Ace. She had finally got info on Blackbeard's whereabouts and told Ace.

_ "You've been a big help, pri-" _

_ "Vivi." She insisted. _

_ "Vivi." Ace smiled half-heartedly. _

That was when she should have stopped him. That was where she had a chance to at least  _ try _ to stop him. But she didn't. She fully believed in him that he could take down Blackbeard. She was blaming herself for being so  _ foolish _ . It was evident from the very beginning this was wrong. All of these thoughts of self deprecation came charging at her now vulnerable mind relentlessly. 

_ "Hey, Ace?" _

_ "Eh?" _

_ Vivi stared at him for a few seconds, but it felt like a lifetime for Ace. "Be careful. Please." _

_ He smiled. "Of course I will." But his eyes were filled with uncertainty. She knew that wouldn't stop him, he usually got what he wanted out of his stubbornness. Besides, she believed in him whole-heartedly that he could do this. _

_ "Good." She smiled back, letting her worry slip away from her, while her future self wished she'd held onto it. "We can have a celebration after you come back!"  _

_ "A celebration? You know that's not a good idea, pr- Vivi. If-"  _

_ Vivi cut him off and took a step closer and shook her head, still beaming with hope. "No, I mean just the two of us! We could go do something fun. I think I can spare a few hours off." _

_ After a second or two, he just laughed and smiled back at her. "Did the princess of Alabasta just ask me on a date?" His face was a light pink now.  _

_ Meanwhile, Vivi's face went red as she turned away embarrassed. "N-No! I just…"  _

_ Vivi heard Ace laugh again. "I'd like that."  _

_ She smiled and held her hands close to her heart and turned to him, only to see he already began to walk back to her window to leave. Her heart dropped into her stomach. _

Don't let him go.

_ "Catch you later, Vivi." He smiled and waved, before hopping on the ledge and leaping off, to wherever his ship was.  _

_ She saw the fear in his eyes. The doubt. The softness in his voice as he said good-bye.  _

Her broken sobs combined with her shuddering breaths made for a heart wrenching sound of despair. Not one person dared to ask if what she was so distraught about was Ace, fearing the consequences. 

They left her alone.

Everyone.

It was so cold.

**Author's Note:**

> hahaaaaaaa here i am again. back with another rarepair and even rarer one at that! hope you guys enjoyed.


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